(WBIR) An East Tennessee organization still needs thousands of dollars to run its summer camp.

Typically, summer can be the slowest season for charities seeking donations.

"Every year the prices go up and we have to raise the amount of money we have to raise for the camp," said Sheena Curley, director of Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp.

Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp is in its second week. The camp takes kids whose families fall below the poverty line and gives them a week of overnight camp for free. In total, Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp runs for six weeks, working each week with different kids.

According to Curley, they still need $20,000 for this summer's camp; it cost about $40,000 to run it.

But summer is a slow season for donations; extra money typically goes toward vacations.

"That's when the kids need it the most because they're out of school and they need places to be, not hanging in the projects on the streets. They need to be places where they're doing things and getting active," Curley said.

"During the summer people sort of forget that donations are needed," said Allison Teeters, executive director for Keep Knoxville Beautiful.

The organization relies on donations. Teeters spent the day writing letters to past donors.

"This is actually, technically, the end of our fiscal year. So it is the lowest period for us. This is when we have exhausted all our funds and are really just kind of scraping by," she said.

Another East Tennessee charity, Volunteer Ministry Center, said it budgets with the expectation they will receive fewer donations during the summer. But Mission of Hope is a nonprofit that said donations have been steady year-round.

Kiwanis Fresh Air Camp will host low-income kids for two more weeks. Then, they are working with special needs kids for another two weeks.

First-time camper Samuel Dascumb hopes to be back next year saying, "This has been the experience of a lifetime and I'm sure to look forward to it."